Jonah’s Disobedience

Topic: Disobedience
Passage: Jonah 1:1–9

February 17, 2019

Commentary

The book opens with Jonah choosing to run away from God’s will for His life.

  1. Jonah chooses to go his own way (vv. 1-2). God tells him to go to Nineveh which was the capital of Assyria, and cry out against it for their great wickedness. Instead Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He did just the opposite of what God wanted.
  2. Jonah finds a ship going his own way (v. 3). “He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish.” It is amazing how Satan provides free transportation for those who are running away from God’s will. However, you can be sure a great storm is coming.
  3. Jonah has enough money to go his own way (v. 3). “…so he paid the fare, and went down into it (the ship).” Notice that running away from God is expensive. Sin is costly and we pay our own way. The trip to Tarshish from Joppa was 2200 miles and took six months.
  4. Jonah had peace going his own way (vv. 4-5). “But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship, had laid down, and was fast asleep.” It was no ordinary sleep but was a deep heavy sleep. The sailors awaken Jonah and begin to question him as to who he is (vv. 6-9).

Jonah had convinced himself that everything was alright. The circumstances were right. The ship was there, he had the right amount of money and he felt such great peace that he went to sleep. However he was out of the will of God because he disobeyed the command of God. Notice that he went down to Joppa, he went down into the ship, he went down into the sea and he went down into the whales belly. No one ever goes up when he disobeys God and goes his own way.

Application

I want to make sure that I’m running God’s way and not in my own way in this life. (I John 2:3-6).

Jonah 1:1– 9 (NET)

1 The Lord’s message came to Jonah son of Amittai, 2 “Go immediately to Nineveh, that large capital city, and announce judgment against its people because their wickedness has come to my attention.” 3 Instead, Jonah immediately headed off to Tarshish to escape from the commission of the Lord. He traveled to Joppa and found a merchant ship heading to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went aboard it to go with them to Tarshish, far away from the Lord. 4 But the Lord hurled a powerful wind on the sea. Such a violent tempest arose on the sea that the ship threatened to break up! 5 The sailors were so afraid that each cried out to his own god and they flung the ship’s cargo overboard to make the ship lighter. Jonah, meanwhile, had gone down into the hold below deck, had lain down, and was sound asleep. 6 The ship’s captain approached him and said, “What are you doing asleep? Get up! Cry out to your god! Perhaps your god might take notice of us so that we might not die!” 7 The sailors said to one another, “Come on, let’s cast lots to find out whose fault it is that this disaster has overtaken us.” So they cast lots, and Jonah was singled out. 8 They said to him, “Tell us, whose fault is it that this disaster has overtaken us? What’s your occupation? Where do you come from? What’s your country? And who are your people?” 9 He said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”